In the depths of an abandoned steam bath, strangely beautiful women
deduce two businessmen into a ritual or macabre sexuality; in a Greek
asylum, wise men race frogs to decide of the fate of the world; a petty
convict's cellmate reveals to him the gruesome birth of evil; a young
woman's slum research leads her into the hook-handed grip of The
Candyman, a vicious supernatural killer.
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I've wanted to nab this baby forever, since watching the movie Candyman, adapted to the screen by Bernard Rose with Clive's backing. I have owned several of his books of blood anthologies for awhile, yet this one has remained an illusive completion of the cycle. Finally I now own all of them, and read this one within the week of receiving it.
The
book, a brief 255 pages, envelops four short stories. The first, 'In
The Flesh', is a strange tale following the mind of a convict, Cleve,
who is forced by an overeager warden to be the caretaker of his new
cellmate, Billy. Strange and reclusive, Billy isn't an easy man to keep
safe from the other inmates, but it's even more tiresome trying to get
his new companion to sit still on bizarre questions he's filled with.
Soon Cleve is forced to witness some pretty strange stuff, and from
there the story skyrockets. Baffling and strange, as Barker's works
typically are, the short tale is blessed with bizarre imagery, unusual
characters and an intriguing outcome. The endings a strange little
thing, one I never saw coming, but a dark wrap-up that strangely fits.
Following
the unsettling piece is the short story of the legendary Candyman, in
written form titled The Forbidden. There are outstanding differences in
the short version versus the celluloid portrayal; Helen herself is much
different, although not in a bad way, and her goal is instead on the
history of graffiti rather than urban legend and myth. Candyman is also
quite different, although I noticed much of his dialogue was copied
through to the film. That's the only similarity really. Bernadette,
Helen's best pal in the film, is only a mere aquaintance shown once
here. No one sits to tell the young woman about Candyman's dazzling
past, but instead insist she's a naive child being lied to. The
situation with Anne-Marie and her son differ so strongly it was hard to
compare the story and movie at all. Standing by itself the short story
is an intriguing one, even if I felt the ending fell a bit short.
It
was hard for me not feel slightly cheated with The Madonna, as no
character was likable, the ending seemed strangely depressing, and the
story itself devoid of much enjoyment. The idea just seemed too silly
and over-the-top, and no explanations for characters given (some of
their actions just didn't make sense). It was a brief read, thankfully,
but not something that kept my attention like the previous two.
Finally,
the shortest story, Babel's Children, may indeed by the strangest. The
idea is very outlandish and it's clear Barker's bizarre humor gets to
play with this one. The protagonist was a fun woman to follow, her
actions making sense, her personality strong and fiesty but using common
sense as well. There was a lovely sense of confusion that followed me
toward the end, where I then wasn't sure whether to be disgusted or
amused. On one hand the story is so far-fetched and silly it's almost a
turn-off and cheesy, but on the other hand it makes a morbid sense and
purposely pokes fun at a failing system. While I can't make my mind up
on which side of the fence to stand firmly on, I'm settling for using
both reactions and rating this one an intriguing story with a daring,
mediocre death.
If
you happy to find this one, pick it up for sure. Short stories aren't
my cup of tea, but Barker's writing style in his other Books of Blood
anthologies and this one are sure to please. His writing style is
intelligent, filled with an advanced, dry style that's poetically
beautiful. Some of his phrasing is simply breathtaking, forcing me to
repeat the sentences in my mind. All his stories are filled with
inventive, unusual worlds not seen elsewhere. The level of horror in his
tales is different as well, dark without even seeming to try, cleverly
mixed with morbid fantasy. This is one book that thankfully lived up to
my expectations in many ways, diving a bit short in others, but I've
come to expect the latter fault in anthologies.
Book Quotes:
“What worth was a man who could not be haunted?”
